In Greek mythology, there was an island known as the land of the sirens. You may remember it from High School English class. They were three creatures with the bodies of birds and the faces of women who sang beautiful songs that lured sailors off course and shipwrecked them on the rocks.
The most famous story of the sirens comes from The Odyssey. Odysseus knew about the sirens, so he plugged his sailors’ ears with wax. And because he wanted to hear the beautiful singing himself, he had them tie him to the mast and swear not to untie him, no matter how much he begged.
When the sirens sang, Odysseus strained and screamed to be set free—but they wouldn’t untie him. It worked, and they passed safely by.
But there’s another story about the sirens in the tale of Jason and the Argonauts.
When Jason sailed toward the same island instead of using wax and ropes, he brought a musician named Orpheus with him. As they approached the sirens, Orpheus began to play. And his music was so beautiful, so captivating, that the sailors never even turned their heads toward the sirens’ song. They passed by safely, not because they were restrained, but because they were captivated.
Takeaway: Sheer force is not the best strategy to resist temptation.
Source: The story of Odysseus and the Sirens appears in Homer’s The Odyssey. The alternate account involving Orpheus comes from Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica.
